Miscellaneous internet links/Vermischtes aus dem Internet

Google operator AROUND Lifehacker sets out how to use the undocumented Google search operator AROUND. Just on a cursory examination, I did three searches: state AROUND (1) witness state witness "state witness" The second two both had examples of state's witness, but the first didn't. However, changing the (1) to (2) did. A Lifehacker commenter gave a link to a Google page on various other operators. Google translating patents I mentioned this topic last week under Google and the EPO. The IPKAT (Jeremy) has now taken the topic up in Gained in translation: Google comes to help the EPO. Quoting the press release and commenting in brackets:

The collaboration aims to offer faster and cheaper fit-for-purpose [this begs the question: "which purpose?" It seems to the IPKat that patents are read for more than one reason] translations of patents for companies, inventors and scientists in Europe. Today, anyone wishing to register a patent must do so in one of the EPO's official languages - English, French and German. They then need to arrange for translation of the patent - at their own cost - into the languages of all countries in which they wish the patent to apply. This complexity means that many European patents are not available in all national languages or legally binding in all the EPO's member states ...

lifehacker.com - Google searches are pretty smart and tend to be relevant to your search terms, but if you want to get really specific you can specify the proximity of your search terms with the undocumented AROUND operator.